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About this class

This course requires students to develop individual portfolios about contemporary issues, sharing work with increasing depth as the semester progresses.

Students write and collaobrate to develop cross-disciplinary knowledge and broaden perspectives regarding local, provincial, national, and international news. Assignments encouraging interactions with peers across campuses and borders will build broad understanding of issues in an exciting and personalized manner.

Themes addressed during the semester involve: Journalism, Critical Thinking and Credibility of sources, Personal Voice in writing, impacts on communities of non-profits, NGOs, and socially-conscious businesses, the impact of academic research on communities, and the possibilities of Collaboration and civic journalism in 2016.

Abstract
While renewable energy has often been categorized as revolutionary, it still has many issues. More attention should be awarded to green energy for it to be more widely available, since fossil fuels are dominating the field of energy. This problem gets examined through three different academic articles, teaching us how technology and government policies can drastically change the way renewable energy gets used. While the solution has the possibility to heavily affect the world, it comes with a few challenges.

Throughout my whole semester in Newsactivism, I had the chance to write about various interesting problems such as the introduction of the travel ban by the Trump’s administration, Kim Kardashian’s slut-shaming story and even made an opinion piece on the fake news. Going in the same direction for my final project, I took the liberty to create a blog tackling different women’s issues like feminism, rape culture and the pressure of being perfect – in other words, issues I am passionate about – instead of writing a research paper or take a volunteer opportunity.

Homophobia is a social issue that starts with the stereotypes drawn by society, and finishes with the inadequate educational system that leaves minority sexualities groups aside. While drawing stereotypes among the population we are every day less capable of the development and understandings of diversity. Homophobia is learned and is spread in a social process, and sadly there is a high degree of ignorance of LGBT reality among students, but also among educators.

This paper will study the roots of human trafficking with the fall of the Soviet Union and the establishment of Newly Independent States. Effective laws have been brought up by analyzing historical, sociological and political contexts. The study will explain that crime has become a huge transnational criminal organization because of economic disparities and the devaluation of women. Studies have shown that laws focusing on the punishment of offenders have been significantly useless at decreasing the crime rate.

Before reading this post… please go see this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=stRtrCTCnks&feature=youtu.be
... I have been focusing on institutional racism. I have been trying to understand what it is, what would be the solution to it and how can I help the cause.

Fentanyl is highly popular and Canada’s deadliest drug. For opioid user who first encounter it as a drug to reduce their pain. Friesan study of 1026 reported that Fentanyl is highly avaible because of doctor who prescribe it and user sell it on the black market. It is also mass produced in China where there is no law that regulate it. Fentanyl is highly lethal because of its potency and can led to respiratory failures according to Nelson. Furthermore, fentanyl is highly destructive for the community because it is sold as less potent drugs which lead to overdoses according to Popova.

I went to my old High School to spend a day talking to secondary four and five students about themselves, and listen. The goal was to engage the students into thinking about what they want to do after High School. College, University, or go work. The reason why I wanted to talk to them is simply, because they are controlled by their teachers and parents. They have schedules from school to follow, and at home, but no time to think of what they want to do or what they really like. I conducted a series of activities for them to work and focus on their skills.

When volunteering at the Women’s Center of Montreal, on April 28th, I attended a discussion with 27 people of various age groups, with 23 of them being female, on how to integrate women immigrants into our community. As I have been writing about sexual violence as well as various women’s issues for the past couple of months, attending such a discussion has really helped me open my eyes and truly realize how important those issues are. Those are not light issues which only affect certain people. They are present right now, right here in our community and all around it.

I volunteered, with my mother for support, at the Banque Scotia 21k de Montréal race, on April 22nd 2017, by handing out race packages and t-shirts to those participating in the race. I specifically put t-shirts in a bag with four safety pins while those in front of me handed the bags, or race packages, to the runners with their bibs. Runners have the chance to participate in the charity challenge after registering for the race and fundraiser for their chosen charity.

"We cannot all succeed when half of us are held back." -Malala Yousafzai
"The only thing that separates women of color from anyone else is opportunity" -Viola Davis
"In my nervousness for this speech and my moments of doubt, I've told myself firmly, 'If not me, who? If not when, how?'" -Emma Watson

Media has become an integral part of a person’s everyday life. We depend on technology and media for most things, from entertainment to work. However, over the years, media has begun to have a negative impact of its users and viewers. More specifically, a rising issue that is affected people everywhere is exposure to violent media from a young age. Studies have shown how exposure to any sort of violent media, such as video games, movies and television shows, can have several negative impacts on the youth.

Throughout the whole semester my focus of my work has been surrounding the different aspects of mental health. In order to find new and creative ways to show the truth of mental health issues, I have found 2 sources of current events that have occurred within the last month. In addition, I have decided to challenge myself in creating a blog that discusses the issue of mental illnesses, featured on the site are; TedTalks, places to visit within Canada for help, photography, and much more. I created this blog to illustrate the stigma against mental health problems.

There has been a meeting at the World Gas Conference of Paris between the biggest gas and oil companies to discuss about natural gas’ environmental benefits.
News summary from an article written on BBC News by Richard Anderson on June 2nd 2015. http://www.bbc.com/news/business-32976210

I decided to comment on your article as the title attracted me. I never hear before the problems on the Caribbean as we seem to talk more about Asia and Australia and their issues and don't give attention to oceans who are closer to us. It does not surprise me that the Caribbean have problems with their decline in fish species because it is a sea abused by human and nature just like the others even though we don't seem to talk about it. On an article from the Guardian I read, it is mentioned that if the situation does not change, the coral reefs will disappear within 20 years! It is totally scary! In the article, it is also mentioned that this issue is caused by tourism. However, must countries in contact with the Caribbean Sea depend on the tourism economy to sustain themselves. It is very sad as they are in a vicious circle. The population is trying to survive, they can't manage to be even more careful with the overfishing, the pollution and to reduce the tourism. It is a crisis.
I also totally agree with your opinion. We need the world population to be aware of the issues so we can change our situation as a whole
Source : Aldred, J. (2014). Caribbean coral reefs ‘will be lost within 20 years’ within protection. The Guardian. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/jul/02/caribbean-coral-reef...

Hi Devon,
First, I would like to tell you that your summary was very interesting and well written. The issue you are addressing is very worth our attention and affects all of us.
To answer your question, I would personally suggest you to keep track and try to decrease your CO2 emission as well as your energy consumption. Little by little, it could contribute to smooth the effects of climate change and global warming. All little actions will pay off. You could also try to have a more biologic diet and try to reduce your meat consumption, to reduce the impacts of your alimentation on the environment.
To have the opinion of experts, I found a very nice article about the causes and solutions of agricultural crisis; The Farm Crisis: Its Causes and Solutions, by the National Farmers Union’s (Canada). It says that the best thing to do is to eat organic and to encourage local production. Also, we should try to support people producing food in rural communities and regions. It could help by reducing the carbon dioxide emission, creating jobs, and also contributing to our health.

I chose to comment on your article as it is a problem that we are noticing and living with but also because I did my summary on a topic related to yours and it was very interesting. We can agree that food production is absolutely necessary to the human survivor. Then, why can't we stop destroying our planet which impacts our ressources to eat. The food production is sensitive. A little or not enough rainfall and too cold our too warm can cause major problems in the livestock and plants production and it is crazy to think that it is mostly because of us. In an article called "How will climate change affect food production?" by author Duncan Clark, it is explained that the future of the food production will depend on how the societies will be able to adapt to the climat change which is inevitable. Furthermore, we can prepare to a certain extend because nature can surprise us at any point in time. The author continues by saying that countries with higher and richer latitude have better chances to adapt to different climat conditions.
It is scary to think that our own way of surviving is what is affecting the planet on which we live.

Hi,
I think that the article you summarized is very interesting and addresses the issue of climate change in a way that we are not used to. I like that it suggests another effect of climate change that we are not used to see. I agree with you when you said that evidences of climate change are right in front of us, but, for some reasons, we do not see it. But don’t we chose to close our eyes on global issues like this? I found an article proving that not all people choose to ignore the problem. The Naza did mission to study the effect of climate change in North Pole. They record information and data for more than 10 years, to prove people that climate change is, in facts, a real issue that we need to be worried about.

I find your topic very interesting because we always talk about the Antarctica and the polar bears when we bring up the subject of climate change and impacts on our ecosystem. It is crazy to think that we were like 3-4 years old when they saw an extreme melt in this region of the Earth and the world population haven't done anything even 16 years ago. It proves that we could prevent such situation if we start acting right when something negative happens to our planet.
Moreover, do you know what will be these changes in the ecosystems in the future of Antarctica? An ecosystem is in constant change but what are some drastic differences that we will see in the future?
Here is what I found: of course, a change in the climate is undeniable, a reduced sea ice which will decrease the population of Krill (planktonic crustacean) and other species in the food chain in the Southern Ocean and destruction of the Ozone layer above Antarctica. Repairs in the ecosystem can take many years but let's wish that the population to take a turn for its best and realizes the consequences on our planet.

I think that the wildlife extinction is a very interesting issue that we need to worry about. Animals are very affected by human behaviours, and we need to protect them as much as we can. You wrote a good summary, and for your next summary, you should maybe divide you text into paragraphs. I think you came up with a good point by saying that humans are selfish and and focus on their well-being only. Waste is also a big part on our modern society, and we need to be aware of our consumption and its impact on the environment.
After reading your text, I looked on the Internet to find an article that was linked to your subject. I wanted to find a little bit more statistics about this issue. I found a very interesting web page that said that : “ «Extinction is now proceeding thousands of times faster than the production of new species,» biologist E.O. Wilson writes. Between 30 and 50 percent of all known species are expected to go extinct by 2050, if current trends hold.” (Ketcham, 2015) More statistics and facts can be found in the article.
Link to the article:
Ketcham, C. (November 14, 2015). Mass Species Extinction and Wilding the Wilderness. Retrieved from: http://www.wilderutopia.com/environment/wildlife/mass-species-extinction...

This is a very interesting and concerning topic. I agree with you, it is alarming to think that the population is increasing and the resources are decreasing. The whole population of the Earth has to make major changes to improve the condition of our planet. The percentages provide your summary makes us, the readers, realize the situation even better. I also found useful that the Western countries are brought into the subject as it is where we live, so we can relate, and it explains how we are using our resources. With the solutions brought into your summary, was it any good results? Is there other solutions that we can do to improve our way of living or how to solve the overpopulation
Here is what I found when I did a research.https://www.positive.news/2017/society/28035/5-possible-solutions-overpo...
This article published by Positive News in July 2017, some solutions to overpopulation could be: education, family plan or minimum children regulations.https://www.positive.news/2017/society/28035/5-possible-solutions-overpo...
As for easy ways to consume less on our everyday life, some solutions like use public transportation, buy an electric car, compost, have a garden, use less plastic and paper can make a big difference.
Information retrieved on https://www.conserve-energy-future.com/41-super-easy-ways-to-stop-air-po...

I know it's been a while since this comment has been here but I just wanted to clarify that throughout what is written in my news summary I have only written about what I found in the news article and podcast, not about what I believe should be changed. While I do however agree with what is mentioned in the podcast I do not mention that in my news summary.

I was compelled to read this post because bullying is a serious topic that needs to be considered as the reason young adolescents are becoming troubled. This is a problem that affects most teenagers around the world. When I was back in high school, I had a lot of friends that were bullied by other members in our grade. The pressures of being "skinny" led them to hurt themselves and them having to be hospitalized. I came across a reason why people tend to bully others, it's because they might have been bullied themselves in the past.

About the author

I'm a Humanities Teacher at Champlain College, Saint-Lambert and the designer and founder of Newsactivist. Between 2007 and the present, I've developed a course, Newsactivist, which asked students to blog about the news that they felt showed parts of the world in need of improvement.